Department Sergeant of the Month -- September 2009
The citizens and business owners of Sector 212 spoke up about their crime concerns and Sgt. Robert “R.P.” Jones listened. Because of his initiative and actions, he is the Department’s Sergeant of the Month for September.
From speeding and reckless driving along the area’s major thoroughfares to commercial robberies, Jones sought a proactive policing strategy that would address these concerns.
He came up with three major DUI-traffic checkpoints that resulted in:
699 vehicles checked
two felony arrests
28 misdemeanor arrests
two DUI arrests
43 summonses issued
one gun seized
Numerous citizens called to express their thanks for the checkpoints, which not only stopped the speeding issues, but increased police visibility in the targeted areas.
But Jones didn’t stop there. He conducted three warrant sweeps with his officers in the Elkhardt, Brookhaven and Southwood neighborhoods, checking more than 50 residences for wanted individuals. Although no fugitives were found, the citizens were happy to have the positive police presence in their neighborhoods.
To help the business owners make their establishments harder targets, Jones created merchant sign-in books for four businesses he identified through crime analysis as potentials for a commercial robbery. He paid these businesses a visit, explained the importance of the merchant sign-in program and provided the number to Community Care team for a robbery prevention survey of the business.
Jones believes in getting out in the community – even if it’s a 9:30 a.m. Saturday civic association meeting after getting off work at 3 a.m. that same day. But Jones knows keeping in touch with civic associations is another key to successful community policing and he’s done that with the Orlando Broad Rock and Brookbury communities.
As a direct result of Jones’ work last month, Sector 212 had a huge 58 percent reduction in violent crime as well as reductions in property and total major crimes. These efforts paid off for the Department and the community and are worthy of Sergeant of the Month honors for Sgt. R.P. Jones.
